Portrait in honor of Audrii Cunningham hangs at Livingston Junior High

LIVINGSTON, Texas ( KETK ) — A forensic portrait of Audrii Cunningham, an 11-year-old girl who was murdered by a family friend on Feb. 15, has been placed at the Livingston Junior High.

As the school welcomed sixth graders, Principal Jared Nettles placed the portrait of their classmate, Cunningham. The portrait was created by Johnny Castro of the Philadelphia Police Department and will reportedly travel through each grade level as the class honors her memory, the school said.

According to Polk County records, Don Steven McDougal was with Audrii Cunningham on the morning of Feb. 15 where they left the Cunningham’s home in his car. McDougal was reportedly to drop Cunningham at a school bus stop outside of the subdivision however authorities said she never made it to her elementary school that day.

That night an Amber Alert was issued and law enforcement began a dayslong search for the missing girl.

On Feb. 20, Cunningham’s body was found in the Trinity River near SH 59 on the Polk and San Jacinto County line. Officials said her body was found tied to a large rock and that the “rope used was consistent with rope that was observed in McDougal’s vehicle on a traffic stop two days prior.”

An autopsy revealed that Cunningham’s cause of death was due to “homicidal violence with blunt head trauma.”

McDougal was indicted on two counts of capital murder in April and is pending trial.

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